Nikola’s Ex-CEO Has Sold Stock Almost Daily for Three Months

(Bloomberg) — Nikola Corp.’s former chief executive officer has sold more than a third of his direct stock holdings since the electric-truck maker announced his retirement after the end of this year.

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Mark Russell has offloaded just over 1 million shares worth $17.2 million, selling almost every day since Sept. 15, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. His latest disposal, disclosed in a regulatory filing Wednesday, leaves him with 1.96 million shares.

A representative for Nikola didn’t immediately comment.

Russell took over as CEO in the days leading up to Nikola’s merger with a blank-check company in June 2020, replacing founder Trevor Milton. Soon after the electric-truck maker made its stock market debut, Milton’s pronouncements about the pre-revenue company sent its market capitalization soaring, briefly surpassing Ford Motor Co.’s valuation. It has fallen precipitously since those heady days two and a half years ago.

Shares of the company declined 0.5% Thursday to $2.10 as of 1:50 p.m. in New York. The stock is down about 78% this year.

Milton was found guilty in October of securities and wire fraud. Russell told the jury during the monthlong trial that Milton often made exaggerated statements that concerned him and was focused on day-to-day moves in Nikola’s stock price.

Read more: Nikola’s Milton Seeks New Trial, Saying Juror Lied to Be Chosen

While Russell testified that he had conflicts with Milton leading up to his dismissal in September 2020, the two are still linked through a jointly owned entity called T&M Residual. T&M holds about 8% of Nikola’s shares, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Nikola has said Russell manages the T&M shares independently of the company.

Nikola announced on Nov. 3 that Russell would retire two months earlier than previously planned. He ceded the top job to Michael Lohscheller, an auto industry veteran who’s worked for manufacturers including General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG. Russell remains on the company’s board.

(Updates with Nikola shares in fifth paragraph. An earlier version of this story corrected Russell’s current job status.)